The Passage

How do you sail a five-day passage 300 miles off the coast in the Atlantic ocean? It’s not for the faint of heart. Here’s how the instrument panel recorded our journey:

It really wasn’t that bad. We had good weather, and Sophia sails herself, practically, she is so well-balanced. When going to windward, even in 25 knot winds, you can simply set the wheel where you want it, and it will not move. The boat rounds up miraculously and keeps herself on course. Naturally, the winds clock around and you have to be vigilant. And going downwind, it’s best to put the boat on autopilot, our lovely friend, which steers much more efficiently than a human.

That lovely friend failed after two days at sea, along with all of our other electronics, including the VHF and SSB radios. For a few agonizing hours, we couldn’t hail our beautiful buddy boat, Seahorse (A Bruce Roberts 43) , or anyone else for that matter.

We were sailing in the Sargasso Sea, and Seahorse had galloped about five miles ahead during the second night. Larger and heavier than Sophia, she easily made 9 knots, while we had to reef in our sails and keep to a safer, slower speed, about 6, under those conditions.

Seahorse sailing off into the sunset the night we lost power

After our friends lost sight of our mast light, they took down some sails and waited for us, but we didn’t know it, since all of our communications systems were down.

I was on watch while Ryan dozed below, and waves kept breaking across the bow.It was exhilarating, yes. There is something incredibly awe-inspiring about being the only person awake on a vessel so far out to sea, where you are not just under, but quite obviously within, the bright tapestry of the Milky Way above, and there is no way to discern the line where the stars begin at the edge of the sea.I basked in the hugeness and beauty of the universe, and felt intensely alive.

But I have to admit that I also registered a steady and palpable current of sheer terror.That night when the radios failed and the sea roared up and over the dodger and poured straight down into the galley, I decided it was time to wake Ryan.“I think we might need to reef some sails,” I said. “And you might want to put your foul weather gear on, since it’s pretty wet out here.” Not exactly to my relief, he agreed immediately that it was time to reef, and helped me to do it. In my sleep-deprived frenzy I steered up straight into irons, and we ended up having to tack out of it and sail in the opposite direction until we got going fast enough to tack back on course. We lost about an hour, I guess. Ryan stayed up with me until we both settled down and Sophia regained a safe speed on autopilot. Then he returned to bed.

Did I mention we rigged up a lee-cloth on the starboard settee for sleeping while passaging? It got quite stuffy down there after four days at sea, but it was still incredibly comfortable to be in it. The boat rocks back and forth like a cradle, and you feel wonderfully warm and secure and happy, even if the winds are screaming above. That is where Ryan went.

I hunkered down again under the dodger (so named because you crouch there, dodging waves? I wondered) and attempted to quiet my mind by reading. I set a timer on my watch to alert me at 13 minute intervals, when I got up, stretched, checked the instrument panels, peered out into the night in all four directions, and curled up again. We still hadn’t made contact with Seahorse, and there was nothing to do but sail on. The instruments were still working, and we had an Automatic Identification System that also functioned, and an operating bilge pump. It had failed, frighteningly, along with the manual backup, earlier in the journey, but Ryan fixed it. I watched the dawn unfold across the sea and sky, and welcomed the sun. When Ryan awoke again we made coffee and soon spotted Seahorse, a tiny stick against the horizon. We motor-sailed until we caught up to them, and then put our heads together about the problem, which turned out to be electric.

We had run our batteries down too far, and they were not charging, even with the motor on. The Honda 2000 came to our rescue. Ryan hauled it up to the foredeck, plugged it in, and slowly but surely the house batteries began to fill up again. After they got high enough to hold a charge, the VHF and SSB radio came back on again. Of course the latter blew up again, after we made land, but that’s another story, and not as interesting.

Nice story. Thanks for sharing. Where did you start and what was your destination? Type of boat? Keep posting as many a former sailor live vicariously through people like you. Wish you calm winds and following seas.

Hello, Renard. We bought the boat in Oriental, NC, and sailed her from there to Beaufort and then down to Abaco. The boat is a 36 foot Sabre with a navy blue hull. Thanks for your kind thoughts and wishes!

Where did you leave from in North Carolina? I crossed from Jacksonville in my boat . Two years later my husband and I from ft lauderdale in December. My family name is Latta from the North Carolina James Latta

Hello Frances! My grandmother’s name was Frances Latta, but she was born Frances Price. She married my grandfather, Lynn. We are also descended from the North Carolina Lattas. James, born in 1735 in Ireland, we think, settled in Orange County, NC, but died in Maury County, Tennesee, in 1804. At any rate, my partner, Ryan, and I sailed from Oriental to Beaufort and then sailed all the way to Abaco. Where are you now? Do you follow the family on ancestry.com? You could look for my tree there, Latta-Hanson and related families”

Sounds like a rather exciting passage! I remember well that mixed feeling of terror and amazement….Glad you can look back on it and say it wasn’t bad. I sometimes wonder if ANY auto helm can survive a passage…we certainly went thru a few of them.

Hi, Susan! It was actually a great passage. We’re still in Hopetown, actually, and may just hang out here until we can get an Iridium Go Sat phone. Do you guys have/use one? Fly down and visit us anytime, if you like. Not as swanky as your boat, if Ryan tells me right, but it’ll do for company and we’d love to see you.

Joansdatter’s ethical guide is the NASW Code of Ethics, to which she has sworn an oath to uphold. Here are a few notable excerpts: The Preamble The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs … Continue reading Joansdatter’s Code of Ethics

How often do you meet someone who hears you? Who listens and focuses on you long enough to grasp what it is that you are going through or trying to say? And isn’t it a shock when you actually meet someone who stops and listens to what you have to say. Who makes an effort … Continue reading How to Listen to People